Jennifer Gratz felt as if she had lost her case at the Supreme Court 10 years ago. But this week she sees Supreme vindication, with more to come next year.

Jennifer Gratz's legal battle had dragged on for 5½ years when it ended in 2003 with a 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in her favor. She tells me she felt as if she'd "been kicked in the gut."

If that seems an unusual reaction to a victory, it's because the circumstances made it Pyrrhic. Ms. Gratz, then 25, had sued to challenge the University of Michigan's racially discriminatory admissions policies, under...